Everything was dark. No source of light could be found in the entire night sky except the glow of the full moon through the thick clouds. Fall had come, and soon the rain would empty onto the parched ground to replenish it for the next season.
Within the darkness rested a small village of no great importance. A cluster of about twenty or thirty hut and shops with a larger estate were the League Lord lived resting in the middle. Everyone had already lit their fires and fallen asleep, not realizing that just outside their borders four strangers had been watching their every move for almost half the day.
Within the basement of the League Lord's estate, three boys huddled together, illuminated periodically by bursts of orange light lasting for only brief seconds. The tallest boy of the trio was taking the only suitable stone within their confines and was trying to strike the small piece of flint into a fist size pile of different scraps they found lying around while cleaning the estate. Every time the flint would spark the sparks would dance off and into to the kindling, but the scraps of wood, wool, and clothing, along with anything else they could scrounge up wouldn't light. They had been at it for more than an hour, but there had been no progress made in that time. One of the other boys lifted his head and scooted closer to the taller boy.
"Akio, we need to hurry. It's too cold for Hraki to not have a fire tonight."
Akio struck the ever diminishing piece of flint once more, then hissed in frustration and threw it down. "It won't catch. The damn air is too moist." He looked up at his brothers who were not of his blood. Sitting on the only futon in the room was Hraki, the youngest at 8, who was shivering. His cheeks were stained with tears from earlier that evening, and every time he moved he would wince in pain.
The master of the house had become board that afternoon and had had the young boy brought to his room. Akio, his senior by 9 years, knew exactly what had happen because until he reached age 11 it had been happening to him. Hiro, who had just exited their masters preferred age range at 12, was curled around him trying to keep the malnourished and bleeding boy as warm as possible, but it was in vain. The cell within the basement they were trapped in was thick with cold and the walls wept with the excess water from the ground above. None of their food deprived bodies would be able to retain any heat; much less share it with one of the others. Akio hissed once more as another draft clawed at them again. Hraki sobbed in pain.
"Hraki, hear take this." Akio took off his thin jubon and wrapped it around the small boy's body. "Try not to move too much. Has the pain gotten any worse since earlier?"
Hraki lifted his head and shook it back and forth. "It wasn't as bad as last time. He didn't use his whip like before, but he still hit me when I told him it hurt." Hraki started to cry again. "It hurt so much, and he wouldn't stop. I tried not to cry but, he just wouldn't stop. I don't want to be here anymore big brother. I want to go back home."
Akio sighed and kissed Hraki's forehead. "If he would let you leave to go on an errand with us I would run in a heartbeat, but he doesn't and I won't leave one of you behind."
Hiro nudged the young boy. "But hey, next time we go, I'll bet that that nice lady from before will be there, and we can bring you some more of that honey she gave us. How does that sound?" Three days ago, a woman had been in the village and had given them some honey as payment for helping her carry some things. She had obviously from a rich family because honey was not something that was common in the everyday peasants' life, at least not that kind of quality.
"That is a good idea. I'll see if-" They were all cut off by a shrill scream. High pitched and short as it was, it could have been a number of things, but that did not help to settle their nerves. Soon after, shattering glass and breaking wood could be heard along with more shouts and screams.
"Akio, what is that?" Hiro looked frightened.
"I don't know maybe a banquet of some sort?" It was unlikely as another loud crash could be heard right above them, then silence. The entire building was dead silent, which was never the case for servants constantly had to move around and keep the rooms clear of dust and dirt. All the boys shuddered but still Hiro and Akio rose from the damp floor and moved towards the door which was the only way in or out, yet there was still nothing. Hraki stayed in a tight ball on the futon.
Almost to the door, the latch moved, startling all the occupants inside. They watched as the handle turned and the light of lamps shown in, allowing them to see that instead of there being one of the house servants standing in the entry, there was a man with long light green hair and claws coted in blood. Hraki screamed and Hiro pushed him against the far wall. Akio stood on front of both ready to fight for the only two people who he cared for since his parents sold him off to this hell. They would not die, not with him there.
"Who are you? Leave us alone!" The green haired man stepped forward, filling the dingy almost room with yellow light. His eyes shone an almost black green.
"You are to come with us." Without warning two others entered the small space; a male with short black hair and distinctly human features was followed by a tall female demon Akio recognized as neko.
Akio thought it strange. 'Why are there two demons and a human here together, and telling us to go with them?'
For the most part humans and demons avoided coming into contact with each other like the other was an incurable disease, so having the two species together was beyond abnormal. What was happening?
"Like hell we will!" Hiro screamed. "You killed everyone! We know you did!" Hraki began to sob louder. All within the room were frozen, trying to find an edge to get at the other.
The female tilted her head at them, her black ears twitching forward. "Why do you morn their deaths? They helped that sick thing that rules this area to keep his actions towards you a secret. Would you rather have been left here to continue being used as play things?" Hiro shut his mouth but Hraki decided it was his turn to talk.
"Are you here to help us?" Akio scoffed to himself at the absurdity of the idea but was frozen as the green eyed demons spoke again.
"Yes we are small one. Our lady thought it would be in her best interests to annihilate the league lord of this region but thought it wise for you to be spared and brought to her home."
Akio stared at the man. 'Lady? Her land? No, it couldn't be…' "You mean Lady Higurashi?" That couldn't be. She was the young demon daughter of the late Lord and Lady of the North, the sole heir to the Northern Lands. What would she want with sex slave humans such as themselves?
"Yes," The human man spoke for the first time. "She was on her way to this very place to have a meeting with your now dead Lord and discovered the boys she gave bread to were being used in such a way that has been outlawed for centuries and decided to act. Now we must leave, the guards will soon discover us." All three began to step forward.
"Wait! What the hell-"The green man bent a bit and lifted Akio into the air, Akio blushing like a fool the entire time. 'What the hell?' He looked to see the female had grabbed Hiro who was too stunned to speak and the other man had a hold of Hraki, who seemed to dislike the contact.
"Now let's be off." Green eyes met brown. "We must travel quickly. In your state it would be unlikely you would be able to travel far." Akio looked down at his thin body and blushed. He wasn't fed very well over the years and had become very thin because of it. Swiftly and without the excess noise of talk or heavy footsteps, all six were quickly outside the estate and over the surrounding walls without anyone spotting them.
As they began to run through the surrounding forests, a movement to their left made Akio gasp in fright but the man holding him shook his head.
"He is a friend." He looked in his direction. "How did it go?"
Without warning, a forth mystery man came running alongside the group. His face was covered in a mask but Akio could barely make out two ears on the top of his head.
"What the hell took you so long? If I hadn't fended off those damn guards, you would have had one hell of a mess to deal with!" The man pulled down his cloth covering from over his mouth and nose to reveal a pair of fangs and blue stripes on both of his cheeks. He looked like a demon, but his ears made him look like something else. Maybe even a hanyou.
"Even if you did go against orders and engaged the enemy, I thank you for the help." The sarcasm with thick in his words. "Now do as you were told and scout ahead for a place to camp. You are the fastest of us right now, so hurry up."
An annoyed 'Keh' was the last thing he said before the fanged stranger disappeared from sight. After that everything went quiet and suddenly all of what happened came down on Akio at once.
A flash of images were set around Akio. The first time he saw his brothers, the first time he was led down to his prison, all the times his now dead master made him scream and cry in pain, moments of confusion, the feelings of being dirty, his parents not looking at him as he cried out for them because they were smiling down at their four silver coins. All this ran its course and by the end he was crying. The stranger who held him tightened his hold and whispered a light 'Shhhh, it's alright now. I have you.' in his bangs. That strange act alone made all the bad memories go away. Looking up, the green of the man's eyes shone with sympathy and empathy, and it made life seem a little less horrifying. It wasn't long after that the woods began to thin and looking back, the estate was visible. Men, women, all were dead. All the people who had been a part of the torture, and suffering that had gone on under the luxurious tiles and expensive foods. All were dead, and they were free.
Please please please tell me what you think. I don't mind flames if they are constructive ;O) HoNk HoNk